A Brief Look At Temporary Protected Status or TPS

TPS or Temporary Protected Status can be provided by the Attorney General to those people who are immigrants and cannot return safely for temporary periods to their home country. This could be as a result of either natural disasters, civil unrest or other conditions.

On the 1st March, 2003, however, the authority for the designation or extension or termination of the country for TPS designations was moved from that of the Attorney General to that of the Secretary in charge of homeland security. The TPS program administration was also moved from the Immigration and Naturalization service to the DHS which stands for the department of homeland security.

When the country comes under TPS, the residents and nationals of that country can stay in the US and get a work authorization and even get travel authorization. However, what one should know is that in no way does this lead to the person getting a green card. However, when one does register for a TPS, they can apply for other petitions and benefits which they are eligible for.

When the TPS designation is removed, those temporary protected immigrants then go back to the same immigrant status they belonged to before the TPS was imposed. Therefore, if the person was an illegal immigrant and during the entire TPS did not rectify the situation then post the TPS he or she reverts back to the unlawful status. However, during the TPS they could take steps to acquire a legal status.

Currently the TPS is provided to the people belonging to Guinea, El Salvador, Honduras, Haiti, Nepal, Liberia, Nicaragua, Somalia, Sierra Leone, South Sudan and Sudan as well as Yemen and Syria. The Homeland Security secretary in consultation with the State Secretary issues the TSP for periods ranging from 6 – 18 months and these periods can be extended as well.